Brand new .270 Advice needed please.

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Robtattoo

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I'm going to be picking up a brand new rifle tomorrow & as I've never owned a new 'un before I was wondering; Do I need to do any cleaning or de-greasing before I shoot the thing, or can I just slap on the optics & go nuts?
Do new guns usually have a 'break-in' period (I've only ever dealt with black powder before & that needed more than 100 shots to get 'settled!')

Also, now you're here, I need advice on ammunition. It's a .270win & I'm going to be using it solely as a deer rifle with my longest shot being possibly (although hopefully not) out to 300yds. I've read a lot of online opinions telling me that a 130gn bullet is about the ideal, but there are so many loadings for this thing (I'm used to, as I say, round balls or .303 Brit as my only 'modern' gun!) that I really have no clue where to start.
I know the ideal would be to buy a box of each & see what groups the best, but I don't have a further $400 to buy 20 of everything!
Those of you with hands-on expereince with the .270, could you please give me your opinions.


It's a Weatherby Vanguard, if it's any help.

Thanks you.
 
Always clean the barrel on a new rifle, factory or used.

There may be gunk, maybe an Air Force plane parked somewhere up the tube, whatever, push a patch down the barrel and make sure there are no obstructions.

The only break in needed for a factory bolt action is the number of rounds it takes to zero the rifle. If it functions without incident, it will function without incident.

Feed from the magazine just like you would if you were taking the thing hunting.

I grease and lube cocking cams, especially the firing pin icocking cam.

Check the action screws and make sure they are hand tight.

If you have accuracy issues, that is a whole book by itself.

In my opinion the 270 is at its best with 130's. A 270 will push a 130 just at 3000 fps and that is flat and fast enough for all the bean field or power line shots you will ever take around Tullahoma.

A good sized deer in your area is going to be 130 pounds field dressed. You don't need armor piercing bullets, just good shot placement.

I shot Nosler's and Speer bullets in my 270, they were better than the typical factory for accuracy. I am a devoted paper puncher and doubt that my accuracy standards mean anything in the field.
 
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I have seen at least one 270 that was very picky with 130gr loads. That was a Browning BAR and with 150gr, it was doing 1" groups at 100 yards. Like black powder rifles, your 270 may have a mind of its own about what you feed it. Try some 130gr Rem. core-lokts first and maybe you'll get lucky on the first try.
 
The only picky bolt .270 win I have owned was a Ruger. Anyway I have had excellant groupings with Hornady 130grain SST from their custom line. Also the Winchester 140 XP3's are very consistant shells.

If not wanting to spend premium factroy ammo money. I have found the 130 grain Winchester Silver box power points pretty darn good out to 200 yards or so. Haven't shot them enough past 200 to form a decent opinion.

The 130 grain Winchester Ballistic Silvertips produced some of the most horrific wound channels i have ever seen in deer and yotes. I quit using them they flew great but man do they tear stuff up.
 
Thanks for the help so far guys.

I don't mind buying premium ammo in the least, if it'll do a better job, I just don't really want to have to buy 9 or 10 different premium loads, unless it's absolutely unavoidable.

I wonder; Why don't ammunition manufacturers offer 'Test boxes' of, say, four different models of thier ammo, 5 rounds of each in one box, like archery manufacturers do with arrow shafts?
It'd let you try a good representative group of several different loads from one manufacturer, without the expense involved in buying 4 whole boxes you may never use.

If for some reason Winchester, Remington or Hornady start doing this, I'd really like some royalties, or at least some freebies for the idea! LOL! :D
 
Robtattoo said:
I wonder; Why don't ammunition manufacturers offer 'Test boxes' of, say, four different models of thier ammo, 5 rounds of each in one box, like archery manufacturers do with arrow shafts?
It'd let you try a good representative group of several different loads from one manufacturer, without the expense involved in buying 4 whole boxes you may never use.
Click to expand...

NRA advertised small batches of premium bullets specifically for testing....I have yet to see them for sale though...and it was only for the likes of Barnes and Berger and Swift....I'd love to get boxes of 20 bullets from the likes of Hornady, Nosler and Sierra.
 
Several years ago there was a local shop that sold 5 round packs. They kinda looked like a deck of cards. You could get I think it was HSM, Kynoch, and one other. Mostly 30/06 and larger he had a few .270win. Seems like he just broke boxes of shells that came in a box that had 4 five round boxes to get your full box of 20.

I have seen boxes of 5 sold in things like 505 jeffery, .470NE and the like from Norma for sale. But 5 rounds of those was the price of 40 or 60 rounds of Hornady .270 bullets.
 
Nice rifle. I won one. At first I was in the mode of it is nice but not really what I would have went out & bought. Now I am in the mode of I am not going to get rid of it unless I have no choice. My problem is I shot the thing & like it too much. Remington core lokts shoot well out of it. Mine is a Sporter.
When & if you take it out of the stock watch out where the shims go. It will take Rem 700 mounts which is pretty handy.
I hope you enjoy the rifle.
 
Robatto,I voiced the same thing a number of years ago about why ammo makers dont offer a 5 round box for testing while sighting in a rifle.
Frankly all I would do is head to the range with a box of Winchester Power Points,Remington Corelokts,and Federal Blue box and which of the three held the best group would be my choice.
You might get lucky like I did once to find in one of my Remington 700's in 308 that both the Corelokts and Federal Blue box actually shoot to the same point of impact.
So either will do if sighted in for one or the other.
 
Check any 1 peice mount to be sure. The 2pc mounts should be good to go. Verify before buying if you can. Mine has Leupold 1 piece 700 la on it right now.

EGW shows different mounts
 
I haven't had much experience with the .270 win., (much more with the .270 WSM), but when it comes to factory ammo, I have had great results with the cheap Federal Blue Box ammo from Walmart in my .243 Win. (I think it is being offered in a red box now). Were I in your shoes, I would buy a box of the Federal Blue Box (Power Shok) in both the 130 gr and 150 gr offerings, a box of Remington Core Lokt 130 gr, and see which your rifle prefers. They are about $20 a box and I think your rifle will tell you which one it likes best. If it doesn't show any preference, you can try some other options (most of which are more expensive)
 
Yeah, I see no need to use premium ammo unless your rifle just has to have them.For deer out to 300 yards, regular old Federal Power-Shok in the blue box or Core-Lokt or Winchester Super-X are all being made to a pretty high standard. It is common to hear people who have been doing this for a few decades say that regular ammo today is as reliable and consistent as premium ammo was back in the 70's & 80's. I would buy premium ammo if I thought that I needed it. But most people that I know are 100% satisfied with the performance of these standard loads. Maybe if I was on a once in a lifetime hunt, it would be more of a concern, not that I think Remington core-lokt would fail me on a moose hunt. I read about a fella who went to Africa on a safari for plains species and his rifle got lost at the airport. The outfitter had an old M70 in 30-06 loaded with 180gr core-lokts and it performed flawlessly on shots all the way out to 250 yards. (Maybe it was a Remington Marketing rep. who spread that story!)
 
Each rifle will be different, but my Savage 270 loves the 130 grain Remington Core-Lokt commercial ammo.

Congratulations and have fun shooting it.
Jim
 
Get some Hopies No.9 solvent, a copper cleaning brush (don't buy stainless steel), and some patches. Take the bolt out of the rifle and pull a solvent soaked patch through the bolt from the muzzle to the rear. Pull the brush through about 5 times from the muzzle to the rear and then follow with a clean patch. The first time you go to the range shoot 5 times and repeat the cleaning as before. Every time you shoot 5 times repeat the cleaning process until you have shot a box or two of cartridges. This process will season the bore. If you handload I would suggest working up to 56 grains of IMR 4831 with either a Speer or Sierra 130 grain boattail bullet. Velocity will be about 3000 feet per second. I've never had a 270 that wouldn't shoot really good. BW
 
As already mentioned clean it first. The .270 is my favorite deer round and personally I prefer a Savage but the new Vanguard is awesome! My flavor of ammo for the ol Whitetail these days is Hornady Superformance 140gr SST. I've also had great luck with Federal Premium Vital-Shok in 140gr and the plain ol Federal red box in 150gr SP. I've never been able to find a 130gr load my rifle grouped well with but that is just me. When breaking in a new hunting rifle I do this. I clean the gun. I bore sight the new scope at home with a laser bore sighter. When I get to the bench my only concern at that point is just getting a few rounds down the pipe to "smooth things out" and get a feel for the new rifle. I fire a 10 round string. After each shot I run a wet patch with a little Windex on it down the pipe then 2 dry patches then wait a couple of minutes before the next shot. After I finish doing this I then set out to Zero the Scope. Personally I Zero 2 inches high at 200 yards because how and where I hunt (400 yards is not out of the question). Since you intend to not take a shot out past 300 is great because the maximum point blank range for the .270 in 140gr at 2950fps is 293 yards. So Zero that bad boy in at 2.6 inches high at 100 yards and out to 300 yards just lay the crosshairs where the bullet needs to go and BAM meat in the freezer. After Zeroing I give the gun a quick cleaning and before I leave the bench I shoot one more group of 3 shots just to confirm zero and to get the barrel a little dirty. I found with my guns they are a bit more accurate with a little fouling in them. Keep in mind this is just my opinion and just how I do things, some may agree with me while others I'm sure will not. I hope my info hels on your quest to filling the ice box. Happy hunting:)
 
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